The debate on tax reform dominates cable news. If you care about your future taxes, you need to understand how politicians are spinning the truth, abusing the language, and corrupting basic economics. It’s time not only to simplify the tax code, but to de-weaponize it. It should be a means of raising revenue not a sword to limit your freedom.

The more aware you are of the motivating factors for this growth, and the better informed you are about the restrictions debt imposes on your life, the better you’ll be able to navigate this economic climate and build a positive financial foundation for your life.

With the passage of Proposition 67, California became the first state to ban single-use plastic grocery bags. It also requires most stores to charge shoppers 10 cents for either reusable plastic bags or paper bags. The idea is to manipulate people into using cloth totes to carry home their groceries. Hooray for the environment? Maybe.

August 13, 2016 will be the 35th anniversary of the largest tax cut in American history: The Economic Recovery Tax Act of 1981. This law is generally credited with beginning the economic boom which carried through the 1990s. Why should we take note of this? Because in an election year, economic theory, history, and promises get thrown about like fish at Seattle’s Pike Place Fish Market. Watch out for fishy facts.